Hues of Happiness in the midst of Pandemic

At a time when living with COVID has become the "new normal" and there is despair all around the world, I am reminded of a quote from one of my favorite books, "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." And onam is just the perfect festival to spread the happy cheer to one and all. Even though this year we celebrate the festival away from most of our near and dear ones I still tried to capture the true essence of onam through my pookkalam. The various vibrant colors of the flowers in the pookkalam reminds me of the happier times and gives me hope to look forward to a brighter future where we win over covid and celebrate onam once again, all together just like we did in the "pre-covid" times. Like my 85 year old grandmother says "Onam is not just festival to celebrate but a moment to reincarnate the past of prosperity, happiness and goodness." I wish you all a Safe and Happy Onam.